


Lost At Sea

by KimberlyLikesCherries



Series: 88’s Bizarre Adventures [3]
Category: Undertale
Genre: And now Sans is a manta ray, Dream is a Dumbo Octopus, Magic, Nightmare is a Blue Ringed Octopus, Soulmates, as if NM wasn’t already a cephalopod, maaagic~, shipwrecked, vague use of actual octopus biology, vague use of mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24685834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimberlyLikesCherries/pseuds/KimberlyLikesCherries
Relationships: Sans (OC)/Dream, Sans (OC)/Nightmare, sans/sans
Series: 88’s Bizarre Adventures [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760920
Comments: 296
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

Nightmare watched the ship rip apart with glee, bracing himself on the edge of the sandy cliff as he prepared to propel himself at incoming prey.

A storm had broken out on the surface, a strong one; and with all the rage of nature scorned coming at it, the wooden ship couldn’t have not realized just how screwed it was. Left and right land dwellers were falling overboard with their cargo, going a few feet down before kicking and flailing their way to the volatile surface, only to get knocked back under.

Nightmare’s magic ached with hunger just under his ribs and, loosing patience with his own waiting game, he pushed himself as hard as he could off the edge. Water rushed passed him as momentum carried him up, and up, and up, before finally slowing down. In a long perfected move Nightmare threw out his tentacles around him and then, with a snap, forced then straight down under him, forcing him forward through the vast ocean.

The ship grew in size as he approached, and the waters lightened uncomfortably around him; more so with the great bolts of light flaring above. He was built for the shadows of shipwrecks and coral covered caves, not the open spaces of the seemingly endless body of water around him.

As he went up, finally within a mile of his prey, another creature drifted headlong past him. He hadn’t noticed them before because he’d unconsciously dismissed them as a long dead human, but as they sank past, the creature’s magic brushed against Nightmare’s own; a silent plea for help along side a humorously, inappropriately timed, “Oh, hello! You’re my soulmate!”

The dark octopus froze, previously hidden teal stripes lighting up his body in alarm as the water continued to carry the two away from each other; below them the deep abyss, bottomless for all anyone really knew. 

Nightmare glanced up at the flashing ocean surface to the ship that was soon to sink without a shadow of a doubt, and then back to the- no, his- brilliantly colored land creature. It’s funny, you’d think the choice would be obvious, but Nightmare hadn’t eaten in days; this had been his lucky break-though, apparently in more ways than one.

He glanced between the two a few more times before hissing to himself and turningon the spot, following his land dweller’s lead and flinging himself after them.

The crevasse below grew like the maw of an angler fish, Nightmare’s land dweller acting as a lure as they slowly sunk closer to it; but Nightmare had grown to be a strong swimmer and caught up just as the plains of sand disappeared behind the cliff walls. He wrapped a stern hand around a limp arm and pulled, snatching his creature from the ocean’s grasp.

It set his teeth on edge how pliantly they drifted, only encouraging the haunting idea that they were long dead even as the creature’s magic sparked happily (and weakly) under his hand. Nightmare’s own magic surged forward, rioting against his control to meet the other’s and bond; but somehow he got it into a stranglehold, knowing that time was running out and reassuring himself there would be time for bonding once his soulmate was out of danger of drowning.

Nightmare pulled the land dweller close to his chest (much to his magic’s delight) and turned to the cliff wall; a few strong ‘kicks’ and he was latching onto the rocky face and climbing the ninety degree angle effortlessly. This was what he was built for, and he did so with grace and speed. 

The cliff edge became an impromptu spring board as he pushed off it and into the open water once again; aiming slightly off from the ship to avoid the growing piles of debris around it.

Mournfully, he watched drowning bodies pass him by, but did little more than glance. Maybe if he was lucky, a few would fall onto the sandy banks and he’d have easy pickings later- assuming no one beat him to it.

Nightmare breached the raging surface with great discomfort, feeling weighted down like he’d never been before; but he fought against it, painfully aware of the body in his arms and the skull slumped over his shoulder. He gave the other’s back two good thumps, and then there was an almost startlingly loud gasp by his neck as ribs expanded out under his arms; a painful round of hacking coughs into his shoulder jarred the both of them as they drifted with the waves.

If Nightmare thought the other’s magic was lively before, the moment his creature could actually breath it practically exploded into vibrancy; being much more densely packed than he had previously assumed- probably why they hadn’t drowned earlier. Nightmare’s own darker magic flinched back with him, startled; it would have almost felt like he was holding his brother in his arms once more if it weren’t for how quickly the land dweller’s magic settled down into a tentative calm.

Water pelted down onto them from above, great rumbling booms shuddering through the enormous space above almost in time with the blinding zigzags racing through the air. That and being unable to see below him was making Nightmare nervous, so he snuck glances when large waves crashed over their heads. It wasn’t much, but atleast he knew nothing was about to try and eat them. He had seen what happened to the unweary in these waters.

The creature in his arms couldn’t seem to catch their- his? Their magic was giving off masculine energy so maybe?- breath, choking on the same waves he was so relieved to have. Unfortunately there wasn’t a thing Nightmare could do about the waves, but he could do something else...

Stars, let this be the right choice. He begged to the darkly clouded sky before pushing his creature back and kissing the hell out of him.

Predictably, their magic raced towards the physical connection and consequently to each other; unpredictably, his soulmate growled and pushed him off, only to lower his skull down to Nightmare’s sensitive neck vertebrae and bite down, hard.

It hurt and he yelped, but apparently it was similar enough to what he’d been attempting to do a moment ago that neither’s magic faltered in the slightest and started exchanging through the new bit of contact instead; a light bond stringing between the two. Suddenly he could feel it, the foreign  _satisfaction-confusion-pride-whatthehellisgoingon?-mineminemine!_ tangling between his own feelings.

He gasped, startling his newly bonded into biting down harder; and he was embarrassed to find that the previously painful action came with a brand new shot of pleasure, no doubt an influence of the new bond.

Admittedly, he might have moaned and flashed his colors; just a small bit. He might have also forgotten to keep them above water and let his tentacles latch onto his land dweller’s body, if the way the other tensed and started clutching at his shoulders for dear life while kicking the water was any indication. His bonded might have even cried out in fear, but being under the water so close to the crashing waves drowned out any sound.

But he felt it, the all consuming  _fear-panic-goingtodie-pleasedon’tletmego-toobigtoowidesosmall!_ It was enough to make even him choke. He did his best to send back  _calm-safe-Ihaveyou-Iwon’tletyougethurt_ ; luckily it seemed to work, if only just. Thank the stars for soulmate bonds, or this would have been so much harder on both of them.

Nightmare wasn’t even sure his bonded noticed that he was breathing underwater now, such was the strength of his unease and the singleminded focus of his stare at the ocean floor below; it was a good thing Nightmare had turned him away from the dark crevasse below, or he seriously doubted his creature would have been so easily accepting of his assurances. 

Nightmare could understand his fear, octopi were prey too; but he hadn’t felt fear like that since his banishment.

———————————————————

Nightmare, if it hadn’t clicked for you yet, was a Cecaelia; a type of merfolk that was part octopus, part humanoid.

His bonded, much to his confusion, was also humanoid like him; a skeleton to be precise, not that he knew the word for it. (His language mostly consisted of gestures, clicks, and growls through the water. Hisses and hums were rarely used for anything besides fights and singing, and never in the same sentence, let alone word.) However he was beginning to believe that the land dweller was actually a Cecaelia in disguise, as the moment he’d begun descended down onto the sandy plains below his creature had latched on as tightly as any octopus worth his salt.

The frantic glancing down clued Nightmare in to the problem, and he was quick to offer his solution.

**“Close your sockets.”** He, uh, ‘advised’; but his bonded only gave him a confused frown.

Nightmare frowned back, **“Your sockets. Close them.”**

The creature, still frowning, makes a string of almost constant humming, a few strange clicks, and a quick shift in tone to a high pitch at the end.

The octopus stared at him blankly. His bonded was singing? Now? But it didn’t even sound like- Oh . 

Nightmare could almost slap himself. Of course there would be a language barrier; because nothing could be easy, could it?

Those white lights, so different from his own cat-like pupil snapped to something directly behind him and went out completely. Terror filled Nightmare’s soul once more and he spun around expecting a Megalodon, or an enemy; tentacles popping off exposed bones and flaring out around the two threateningly.

It was just a dead human. Freshly drowned it looked like.

Nightmare turned a glare onto his bonded, sending  _stern-scaredme-don’tdothat_ , but the fear in him didn’t go away; and neither did the land dweller’s eye lights come back. The octopus’ glare faltered and he stared into the empty sockets, focusing more on the fear and picking it apart; just trying to understand.

...ouldhavebeenme _c_ ouldhavebeenme **howamI** ** alivecouldhavebeenme -! **

**“No!”** He said severely, grasping onto the other’s shoulders and wrapping a few of his tentacles tightly around the other’s strange flailing...legs? (That is what his brother had called them, right?) Startling those lights back into place, though they were tinted yellow now.

“N-...n-oo?”  _Curious-fearful-whatdoesthatmean?-aretheyangry?_

Nightmare held back the slight offense and sent forward _Pride-surprise-goodjob-needswork._

His bonded blinked down at him, surprised, then thoughtful, before he was suddenly bombarded with images; a mental picture of him in all his dark tentacle-y glory, an arrow, and a sense of being questioned. It took him a moment to get over the sudden intrusion before he could make sense of the mess he’d just seen.

Oh. His name.

Nightmare said his name in his language, and at the same time he took some petty revenge and sent his own images to explain his name. His creature jumped and frowned, but Nightmare sensed the amusement hidden under the surface.

_Pettycreature-harmless?-willhelp?_ - and then something that must have been the mental equivalent of his own name ( _shadows-oldfear-dismissive?_ No, _benign_ ). To make absolutely sure Nightmare sent that last bit back with his own question and got a mix of murmurs, light notes, and a couple of clicks; as well as a finger pointing at him; Interesting.

He mirrored the pointing with his own mental question, and got the emotional equivalent of, “Uh...”

It was about this point that they hit the sandy ocean bottom; and though it brought the dying fear back a bit, it also seemed to give his bonded an idea.

He picked up a handful of sand that did its level best to escape into the disturbed water and watched Nightmare patiently.

**“Your name is Sand?”** He backed that up with a mental translation. The land dweller nodded yes then no, then dropped the sand.

What the hell does that mean?

And then he got two images: hands with sand and then hands without, then it repeated. There was an emphasis on a feeling of nothing, or missing.

**“...Without?”** _Empty-longingfor-absence_

The land dweller smiled and put his thumb and index together, leaving an inch between. Almost. Then he leans over and picked up the sand again.

Sand, without.

**“Sans?”** _Void-tiredbutnobed-lacking_

He got thumbs up for his trouble, and then a finger pointing back at Sans’ chest with his own pronunciation of his name, which sounded more like a pair of hisses with a hum between them, how contradicting. Nightmare tried to repeat it, but based on the smirk being hidden behind a boney hand, he didn’t think he did a very good job. In retaliation, he pulled Sans feet out from under him with a tentacle; his bonded just sort of slowly fell over, unable to correct himself before he landed on his behind.

Nightmare laughed, enjoying the startled white lights staring up at him.


	2. Chapter 2

The lifeless plains of sands, for a Cecaelia that grew up in the colorful safety of a bustling coral reef, was horribly unnerving for Dream. Every little movement in the corner of his sockets, every sudden change in currents; heck, even the distant cry of whales had him flinching down and camouflaging himself into the corse grains, terrified that it was his death coming for him.

He’d been out here for weeks, and between the hunger gnawing through his magic and the nerves, Dream was sure he was going to loose his wits before he ever got close to finding his brother. The yellow octopus hoped to the stars Nightmare was okay, but it wasn’t looking good for his chances; Dream had packed ahead for this quest of his, but his brother had been forced out with nothing but the gold circuitaround his neck.

The Cecaelia hissed quietly, upset with himself for his poor judgment. Nightmare had been right, he shouldn’t have trusted the merfolk, and now he had no one to blame but himself for the situation he was in; but was it too much to ask that he should find his sibling in one piece?

Did Dream deserve to find his sibling at all?

Perhaps that was the real question.

———

“Now what?”

Before him stretched a familiar sandy floor, but cutting through it like a wound in the earth was a trench that seemingly went on forever, both horizontally and down. As he peered over the edge, Dream knew he could cross it easily, even swiftly if he so wished, but if he knew his brother (and Dream liked to believe he knew his brother like he knew the individual corals that formed the atoll they had grown up in) then he knew Nightmare would not have dared cross this by himself. He didn’t have as good night vision as Dream and feared what hid in the dark, so crossing would have been a last resort.

Still, that didn’t tell him which direction to go now; so did he go left, or right?

Dream perked up, hearing soft laughter and talking right under him. One voice he couldn’t recognize, but the other carried familiar deep tones and trills- even if the words were unrecognizable. 

Dream couldn’t possibly be that lucky, could he?

He wasn’t as good at climbing as his brother, so instead Dream just dived head first down the craggy side of the shear cliff, letting himself fall a few feet while quickly scanning for a hole big enough for his darker brother to squish himself through.

Stars he really was that lucky, wasn’t he? Dream hardly had to work for it at all, spotting the three feet wide hole almost instantly as another giggle emanated from it. He did fall a little past it though, and had to crawl back up a foot or two to reach it; but he was careful not to reveal himself, peeking just over the lip of the entrance with his eye lights as dim as he could get them to go. 

His brother’s back was to him fortunately, Nightmare facing towards another figure he couldn’t quite see as the darker octopus ‘stood’ almost directly in front of them.

The two laughed, and Dream’s soul ached with a feeling he wasn’t familiar with- atleast, it did until he unintentionally locked lights with the soft white of Nightmare’s guest; then it did a complete turn around into astonishment.

Holy manatees, that was his soulmate!

His soulmate’s sockets widened and his jaw froze mid word, seemingly completely loosing his school of thought. Nightmare spoke to him in that strange way they had been speaking and Dream had to cringe a little, assuming he was scolding the other based on the hisses- but also confused by the small hum inserted between. Just what was he saying?

Dream’s soulmate hummed back quietly with only slight hisses in the string of soothing notes, gaze still locked with the lightly colored octopus’ own.

Nightmare snapped himself around.

Dream tensed as an incensed teal light glowed brightly in the shaded cave, glaring into what little of his skull he could see before faltering in confusion. Dream could almost hear the unspoken, “Brother?” before it twisted into, _“_ _ Brother .” _

Well, no use hiding now.

Dream gently pulled himself up a bit higher, letting the two see his whole face and setting his hands cautiously on the lip of the entrance so his brother could see them (and also so he could rest his tentacles).

“Hello, Nightmare.” He chirped softly. 

His brother snarled at him, **“Dream.”**

Okay, he probably deserved that.

“I’m coming in, okay?” Dream didn’t give the other a chance to protest, knowing Nightmare wouldn’t have given him permission (rightly so) to enter but also knowing his brother would never attack him.

Behind his darker brother, Dream’s soulmate tensed as he entered; moving forward to hover unsurely behind Nightmare’s back like a conflicted bodyguard.

That unfamiliar feeling came back.

Nightmare hissed and growled quietly at Dream, rushing in an unexpected show of dexterity around the stone still...land dweller?!

Dream froze but Nightmare didn’t, throwing his arms around the creature’s neck vertebrae and glaring at his brother from over their shoulder as his tentacles flared forward around the side of the land dweller’s legs in a purely defensive threat stance.

Dream wasn’t sure what to feel now. Part of him withered and raged against his brother’s actions, but another feared for his brother’s safety; land dweller’s were notoriously dangerous, everyone knew that!

(A small part of him whispered that the merfolk had told him that, the same merfolk who told him Nightmare had murdered others in cold blood for power.)

“Nightmare, you don’t have to hide from me; I’m not here to hurt you.” He tried to assure, but his brother wasn’t having it.

**“Perhaps not, but you certainly wouldn’t stop another from trying.”** Nightmare shot back, **“I’m sure you’ve got a fish or two laying in wait.”**

“What? No! We’re brothers, _consortium_ -“

** “We are not! You lost rights to that when you took their word over mine and let them disable me;  _banish_ me into the  _wastes_ _!_ ” **

The land dweller’s head flinched back to the side, wincing. Nightmare quickly hummed something softly towards them, and in response they lifted a hand and patted one of his tensed arms and hummed back.

“Brother-“ Dream hesitated as his brother’s one working light tried to burn a whole in his skull, daring him to argue more no doubt; so he switched tactics, “-who is that?”

**“Why, going to take him too?”**

Dream huffed, exasperated, “I’m not here to run you off, nor separate your friends-!”

**“Soulmate.”**

Dream paused, then softly, “What?”

Nightmare sneered at him, but he could see pride shining through the anger, **“Soulmate.** ** _My_ soulmate.” **

“Ah.” A longer pause, “Well this makes things complicated.”

Dream quickly spoke up as his brother’s expression turned fratricidal, “I-I just mean that, uh, well-“ he swallowed and looked anywhere but Nightmare’s face, squeaking out, “-he’s my, soulmate, too?”

Nightmare  _freaked_ .

———

Sans, as he had learned was his name a few moments ago, eyed Dream down from the far side of the cave (which wasn’t very far at all) with his arms and lap full of turbulent tentacles and attitude; something that had seemed impossible not twenty minutes before when Nightmare was basically screeching bloody murder and taking swipes at Dream from the unfaltering grasp of densely packed bones wrapped tightly around his ribs. It would seem Dream had accidentally pushed his brother to his limit, and his- their?- soulmate’s hold was the only thing preventing a good right hook to an eye socket.

It was a very serious matter that required very serious discussion, but Dream got the feeling they were both being laughed at. Why did he think that?

Well for one, Nightmare’s face was glowing with sea green as he pouted and hid his face in Sans’ fabric covered collar bone. Two, his brother was grumbling rather loudly at said collar bone. Three, Sans was smirking rather knowingly towards Dream with the occasional downward glance to the top of Nightmare’s skull.

Conclusion? Something about this scenario made his soulmate highly amused.

He couldn’t wait to find out why.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I made more. Blame Bookwyrm.

Watching his soulmates play was quickly becoming the highlight of his days down in the deep waters of the ocean; and it was play, despite the snarl on Nightmare’s face and the screaming Dream was doing as they swam in large circles in the open plains of sand. He could feel  _happiness-I’llgetyou-Youcan’tcatchme!_ radiating off them like a sun beam in the waters surface, and it felt so nice against his soul.

It was so warm, in fact, that he couldn’t help but relax against the sand and enjoy the gentle swirl of the current through his clothes and bones. Around him the sounds began to fade out and his sockets fell shut, too heavy to stay open.

Just-...just five minutes.

——-

Sans woke up rather groggily to the yellow-purple lights reflecting down on him from the rocky surface of the cave. 

How did I...? Oh.

He stared down at the skulls cradled by his upper arms and smiled tiredly, enjoying the comfort their presence gave him. This, this right here was the next best part of his day.

Sans sat up slowly, carefully keeping the two cradling in his arms; bracing them against his chest and making sure their spines were supported against his arms. This was the great thing about being underwater; gravity worked very differently here. Something heavy and full of holes like him would fall just like any sort of item on the surface, but his soulmates? Their bones were light like a birds and frames slight enough that carrying them even out of water would have been child’s play. It was easy to shift them around while they slept and sneak out of the cuddle pile they insisted on every night; and since they tended to go limp like a noodle, Sans didn’t even have to worry about their tentacles getting tangled in awkward places. 

Actually, now that he’s thinking about it, that’s probably why they insisted on well hidden homes; less chance of being preyed upon while they slept.

With a smirk, he laid them to the side together as gently as possible (It wouldn’t do for them to wake up alone after all) and stumbled over to the cave entrance. He wanted to see what time of day it was, even though he was pretty sure it was late. So much for five minutes.

Sans paused, eye lights caught by the yellow glow gaining more intensity against the flat rock walls as he walked over. He spun around, expecting Dream to be trying to sneak up on him again, but the two were still blissfully asleep against each other. Sans looked back, and the wall was still glowing.

What...?

Outside the entrance was the pitch blackness of night, as he had assumed it would be; but something wasn’t sitting right with him. The cave was lit up too brightly for the usual amount of light the octopi put out.

Something other than the lights caught the corner of his socket, a glint of something shiny just beside him. He turned again and locked on to the flat part of a fancy butter knife, sticking out of a small pile of colorful rocks and doodads his darker soulmate had been collecting long before they’d ever met.

He walked over and crouched beside it, trying to see what it was reflecting, but the glint wasn’t there anymore; so Sans walked back over to his previous spot and looked again, and the glint was back. 

Something on Sans then, maybe? He looked down.

He blinked, then blinked again.

Was he- was he wearing a glowing poncho? How had he not noticed this earlier? Sans grabbed the bottom edge to pull it off, wanting a better look, but about halfway up he cringed and dropped it, pain shooting through his shoulder blades.

What?

He tried again, same result.

_What?_

He tried to disburse it, realizing it was his own magic covering his shoulders; it refused.

_What the hell?_ What is this?

Sans turned on his heel to rush his way back to the cuddle pile behind him, but the cursed slippery surface of the rocks struck again and slid his feet out from under him violently. He’d barely a moment to realize he was falling before the poncho came to life, pulling itself apart down the front and flinging itself wide to the sides. Sans felt them brush the cave walls on either side of him, flapping frantically like a bird’s wings in slow motion.

At least he wasn’t falling anymore.

The moment he realized this, as if terrified of being acknowledged, the great yellow-white flaps froze in place and he fell like dead weight flat onto the hard stone floor.

“Ow.” He grunted, pushing himself up with his arms- only to fall back painfully when the (his?) flaps refused to budge. 

...he- he couldn’t sit up. Sans was stuck to the floor like a, a huge suction cup or something!

“Boys!” He called half hysterically from the floor, “Boys could you wake up please?” Wait, but they can’t understand him; Sans thought, then amended his actions by sending  _panic-help-emergency_ as politely as he could. 

He was freaking out, but Sans didn’t want to scare his little soulmates by giving them a rough wake up call. Nightmare was already a somewhat anxious soul as it was.

Sans heard a soft huff and grumbled chitters that were way too low to be translated- not that he would have had the mental capacity to try at the moment- and then a keening yawn as one of them stretched awake.

“Sans, what is it?” Dream chirped sleepily  _in his own language._

The larger skeleton swallowed down a disbelieving giggle. Nevermind, guess he wouldn’t have to translate anything from now on!

“Sorry hun, but could you help me up?” And also help me figure out just that the ever loving void is going on behind my back?

Dream got quiet; Sans didn’t have to wonder why.

“Dream, sweetheart, contemplate later please.” Sans called again, “I’m about five seconds away from flipping out and I would really like not to be stuck on my back for it. I would also like a hug when it happens please.”

That apparently got the yellow octopus moving, though Sans only knew because of the soft yellow glow that started moving towards him on the ceiling. He heard a gasp and felt small hands grab his upper arms as Dream’s face popped into view, eye sockets wide with shock.

“Oh my stars, Sans!” Dream turned to call over his shoulder, “Brother! Brother wake up!”

A grumbled **“Nooo...”** earned Nightmare a rare stink eye and the loud smack of a short tentacle against the floor- luckily missing Sans weird new appendages.

“Brother, now! This is urgent!”  _Frustration-worry-donotmakemecomeoverthere!_

Right, time to save his first bonded from the wrath of his second.

“Nightmare, babe, Dream looks like he’s about to make calamari out of you; you might want to listen.” Sans paused, “Wait, isn’t calamari cooked squid?”

That earning a stare of concern from Dream. Good, _now please help me up before I completely loose it._

Apparently talk of eating him was enough to get Nightmare up and about; and Sans knew the exact second the cecaelia realized his predicament too.

_Shock-worry-whatintheworld-_ **“Sans, what happened?!”**

This was going to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

Error drifted with his temporary bloom along the gentle current, taking in the quiet that he couldn’t get anywhere else in the ocean. The jellyfish, though not the same sort as him and definitely not comprised of even a single other being like himself, were docile things that numbered in the thousands- a relatively small number for his kind- and didn’t mind a non-cannibalistic extra in their ranks. 

It was boring; they were boring. Jellyfish are not known for their conversational skills and no weary creature dared come within more than a few feet of the swarm; and as he was firmly in the heart of the bloom, Error hadn’t even seen the open waters for what felt like several days now. As a result, the jellyfolk was beginning to go a bit stir crazy; which was why when he heard screaming Error just thought the silence had finally gotten to him- until he started hearing words in those screams, that is.

**“Left! Go left!”**

“I’m trying, I’m trying!”

“Aaaah! We’re all gonna die!”

Error twisted in place, only to freeze as a giant yellow blur barreled right towards him. He had a moment to lock sockets with the other’s (just as startled as his own) white lights before instincts kicked in and he was frantically pushing himself to the side. Unfortunately jellyfish are notoriously slow swimmers, and Error’s tentacles were especially long compared to the rest of him; designed to latch on to distant fish with a stubborn, painful sting. They trailed behind him like an old, stressed wedding veil, and Error just knew this was going to end badly.

Screaming curses, the intruder managed to tilt himself mostly vertically away from Error (showing off a simplistic but eye catching pigment pattern as he passed) but their right side still caught on a couple of Error’s tentacles- and before the jellyfolk could do more than panic screech, he found himself being dragged along through the bloom at speeds he’d only achieved in the most turbulent of currents.

His unwitting fishnapper twisted and danced through the thinly spread minefield of jellies, somehow avoiding most of the tentacles and bells through sheer luck while bringing them closer to the edge of the swarm; dragging Error along like a stubborn bit of clinging seaweed. Between one terrifying moment and the next, Error found himself terribly exposed.

They’d entered clear waters.

“Ow, ow, ow,” the creature- no, Manta Ray- under him whined pitifully, writhing like a caught fish as they stopped their journey in it’s tracks. He could see a boney hand reach up and hook onto their right shoulder tightly.

“Sans, Are you okay?” A lighter voice asked, “Did you get stung?”

Error blinked, confused; and before his sockets two cecaelia popped out from under those yellow-white fins and floated uncertainty before the manta.

Oh, that makes sense; he thought dazedly, thinking back to the screaming he’d heard as Error watched the two octopi scan their friend with sharp lights. They spotted the problem in no time flat and stared blankly at him.

“Yeah, feels like. I think I also picked up a passenger along the way.” Manta said between visible winces, “Can one of you stop staring over my shoulder and maybe help me get it off? It’s really hurts.”

As if a switch flipped, the dark octopus’ stare turned lethal and the lighter’s more fretting.

**“Get off him!”** The darker snarled, shoulders tensing. The Manta Ray jumped, startled, and tried to twist around, but stopped and hissed as Error’s grasping tentacles pulled against his shoulder. The lighter’s fretting became more urgent with added hand fluttering and soft mutterings. (“Your okay, we’ll get you out, please don’t move!”)

Error didn’t hesitate to snarl back, **“I’m stuck here, you moron!”**

The darker’s lights blazed, **“Then unstick yourself!”**

**“Does it look like I can do that?!”** Error demanded, waving his free tentacles around pointedly. The jellyfolk has a very distinct lack of arms and legs, instead using his trailing tendrils in their stead. His bell sat upon his head like a wide brimmed hat, casting a soft glow onto his features- probably the only reason his face could be seen at all between the somewhat shorter tendrils hanging off the rim.

“Hey, easy there,” the Manta called over his shoulder, and then more pointedly to his friend, “There’s no reason to fight.”

The darker gave his friend a dubious glance while the lighter frowned and disappeared back under the moving fins and popped back up with a drawstring bag, digging into it with his tongue sticking out. 

Error’s current problem kept his lights on him, but his head was tilted towards the other octopus, **“What are you doing, Dream?”**

“I’m sure I saw something sharp in here somewhere...”

Error and the manta both jolted and protested at the same moment.

**“Don’t you dare!”**

“Dream, no!”

Error blinked, glancing down at the other curiously; Just as the startled octopi looked up.

“What? Why not?” The lighter- Dream- asked.

**“First, cutting my tentacles would hurt like hell. Second, that’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard! Cutting them won’t get them off and then they’ll just stay, decompose, and probably kill your friend later on when infection sets in.”** Errorhuffed, crossing two free tentacles over his chest.

“B-but then,” the octopi looked at each other, paling as the lighter spoke, “What do we do?”

“You’re going to have to pry them off.” The manta sighed, flinching again as the current pulled Error away a bit too far. The jellyfolk almost felt impressed; the poor sucker was hiding his pain pretty well and Error was not a soft stinger.

The lighter seemed at a loss for words, but the darker gained a determined glint in his sockets.

**“I’ll do it.”** He said as he moved closer to his friend’s fin.

“Are you sure brother?” The lighter asked as their friend watched.

**“I’m the more venomous between the two of us-“** Error twitched, insulted, **“-so it won’t hurt me as much as you.”**

Oh. He meant his brother.

The apparently poisonous octopus cautiously reached out for a sticking strand, but besides a slightly scrunched face made very little indication that Error’s touch hurt. 

**“I’m starting.”** He warned as he pulled the tentacle gently away from the tense manta’s back. Error could hear the grating sound of teeth grinding as his unfortunate victim suffered through the undoubtedly painful sensation. 

The lighter whined and swam forward, bringing his face closer to the manta ray’s and- oh. Error blushed and looked away, embarrassed by the display of affection. 

Time passed slowly, only interrupted by the sounds of closed mouth keens and stressed purrs as tentacle by tentacle was freed in relative silence.

**“There, that’s all of them.”**

Error finally turned back. Enough time had passed that the spots he’d been touching had become angry orange welts, and without missing a beat the lighter cecaelia swam around and started licking them, still purring to comfort the slowly relaxing manta- who was undoubtedly his mate. The other octopus- joined in?!

**“What the hell?!”** Error screeched, face burning.

And that’s when he learned it was possible to have more than one soulmate; but atleast Error wasn’t bored anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you guys want to see an unfinished concept drawing of Manta Ray!Sans, I’ve got it posted on my tumblr- KimberlyLikesCherries. Yes, this is shameless advertising of my tumblr page. I’m probably gonna put up one for Error too later.


End file.
